Jennifer Curley and her team bring more than 20 years of experience to high-level strategic communications and event planning. With diverse backgrounds in crisis communications, social marketing, politics and government, and performing arts, the Curley Company team approaches client projects with a unique and creative perspective.

Jennifer Curley
Founder and President

Jennifer has over two decades of strategic communications, public affairs, and event planning experience in both the public and private sectors.

Since founding Curley Company in 2002, Jennifer has designed and implemented successful communications strategies for clients including corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Her expertise includes reputation management, crisis and litigation communications, and influencer management. Jennifer works directly with her clients on a daily basis to create compelling messages and generate opportunities to successfully educate their critical audiences using both traditional and new media. She also acts as an on-the-record media spokesperson for clients as needed.

In addition, Jennifer creates and implements a wide variety of events such as galas, multi-day conferences, fundraisers, press conferences and Congressional briefings. She has worked with industry CEOs like former Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, high-level government officials including the President of the United States, Cabinet Members and Members of Congress, and celebrities such as Apolo Ohno.

Prior to forming Curley Company, Jennifer ran the East Coast office of VoteHere, Inc., where she directed the lobbying, public relations and grassroots divisions of the company, acted as a spokesperson to the media and the public, and testified before state legislative committees.

Jennifer previously served as a Vice President at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide. Here, she ran the Technology Policy practice and managed crisis issues and corporate reputation for Microsoft Corporation throughout the Department of Justice v. Microsoft Corporation antitrust trial in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. She is also a recipient of the public relations industry 2001 Silver SABRE (Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation) Award for the “Free Instant Messaging” campaign.

Prior to Edelman, Jennifer spent several years in the Executive and Legislative Branches of the government and in presidential politics. During the Clinton Administration, she was a political appointee in the Protocol Office of the White House and Department of State. Jennifer also spent three years working for U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) and during the 1996 presidential campaign, she was Tipper Gore’s director of scheduling and advance. She also orchestrated several official events for the 1997 Presidential Inauguration.

In addition to consulting, Jennifer taught journalism and political science as an adjunct professor at the American University Washington Semester from 2003-2006.

Jennifer has a master’s degree in political science from American University and a bachelor’s degree in Government from St. Lawrence University. She is a member of the St. Lawrence University Board of Trustees, and a founder, board member, and Chief Financial Officer of the Foundation for Community Betterment.

Jennifer lives in Potomac, MD with her husband, Paul Reichert, and their two daughters.

Meghann Scherrer
Senior Account Director

Meghann manages strategic partnership development; influencer engagement and management; crisis communications; media relations; content creation; event communications; social media strategy and digital reputation for a variety of Curley Company clients.

Prior to joining Curley Company, Meghann was the Director of Communications for the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), a non-profit that supports leading entrepreneurs worldwide. While at EO, Meghann reinvented the strategic communications training for international leaders, managed all event communications from conception to completion, and developed a comprehensive traditional and social media strategy for the organization globally.

In addition to her professional communications experience, Meghann is an aspiring photographer and painter, volunteers for DC PRIDE and the DC Capital Food Bank, and is a class officer for Rutgers University.

Meghann is earning her Master’s of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Northeastern University, and is a Board member of the International Association for Business Communicators for the Washington DC chapter (IABC/DC). She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from Rutgers University. A Philadelphia-area native, Meghann currently resides in the City of Falls Church, VA with her husband.

Riley Smith
Account Associate

Riley coordinates social media engagement, digital reputation management, and event sponsorship outreach, marketing and logistics for Curley Company clients.
Prior to joining Curley Company, Riley served as the co-creator and Director of the Hamilton College Student Employment Office where she developed an innovative, centralized, online system to facilitate the hiring of students on campus. In addition, she worked for Hamilton’s Admissions office interviewing prospective students and organizing open houses and college fairs.

Riley holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Government from Hamilton College and also served as the captain of the varsity ice hockey team. Riley is originally from Rhinelander Wisconsin, and now resides in Washington D.C.

Maria Treacy
Account Associate

Maria manages event planning, sponsorship outreach, marketing and logistics for Curley Company clients. Prior to joining Curley Company, Maria served as the Event Manager for the European School of Economics Foundation (ESEF), a non-profit organization that provides scholarships for underprivileged students. While at ESEF, Maria managed sponsor relationships, coordinated fundraising auctions, and directed general event logistics for the fifth annual Family Business Dynasties Gala.

Maria holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Hamilton College and was a member of the Women’s Varsity Soccer team. Maria is originally from Glen Rock, NJ and now resides in North Bethesda, Maryland.

Strategic Partners

When needed, we add strategic partners to the Curley Company core team. They are experts in their respective fields, and enable us to provide the additional services and scope-specific projects required to best meet our clients’ needs.

Ashley Duncan

Ashley brings nearly 10 years of experience in public relations to clients who are building an identity, shaping their message, or navigating social media. She has directed high-profile media campaigns and partnerships, signature social marketing programs, and branding initiatives for corporations, non-profit organizations and trade associations, and federal government agencies.

As an independent consultant, Ashley manages message development, media relations, and strategic partnerships. Previously, she served as the Senior Director of Communications for Curley Company, where she worked to identify and develop thought leadership programs and visibility opportunities utilizing social media outreach, traditional media relations, and key sponsorships. She also designed promotional events with iconic chefs and culinary personalities and facilitated reviews in top-tier outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, for the publicity launch for Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.

Prior to joining Curley Company, Ashley worked in the Social Marketing practice at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide developing cause awareness and public education initiatives on behalf of organizations including the National Institutes of Health, Department of Homeland Security, and Lance Armstrong Foundation’s LIVESTRONG, among others.

Notably, Ashley directed media relations for the award-winning The Heart Truth^® campaign, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute with support from partners including Diet Coke, Glamour magazine, and community groups across the country. In this role, she coordinated media outreach and onsite media activities for the Red Dress Collection Fashion Shows at New York Fashion Week and The Heart Truth^® Road Show, a traveling exhibit about women’s heart health.

Ashley holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently lives in Washington, DC.

Pamela Strother 

Pamela Strother is an association leader and Principal of Sponsorship Specialists. Her ground-level experience of building and growing association corporate partnership and events programs is a critical asset she brings to Curley Company clients. Pamela has developed organizational systems for funding, marketing and implementing conventions and fundraising events that attract sponsors from Fortune 500 corporations.

Prior to her transition to consulting in 2006, Strother was an association executive with the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) for a decade. She served as the organization’s first Director of Development and took the helm as Executive Director in September 2000. Under her leadership, the corporate partnership program grew to include the nation’s leading news organizations, public relations firms, and major corporations including Bloomberg, IBM, CBS News, CNN, Coca-Cola, 1-800-Flowers, Fleishman-Hillard, Microsoft, General Motors, The New York Times, Toyota Motor Sales, Verizon Wireless, Comcast, American Legacy Foundation and National Public Radio (NPR) among many others.
Pamela served as lead contract negotiator for services and partnerships with the meetings and travel industry, forging relationships with key brands including Marriott, JetBlue, Kimpton Hotels, Harrah’s, MGM Mirage, Amtrak, American Airlines, AVIS, Hilton, Orbitz, and Florida Keys & Key West.

Pamela is a 15-year member of ASAE and is a volunteer leader on the Consultants Section Council. She has served on the Diversity Committee, contributed to the “CEO to CEO” forum for Associations NOW magazine (formerly Association Management) and was a presenter at the 2012 Technology Conference & Expo and 2008 Annual Meeting. In 2005, Pamela earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential, the highest certification from ASAE. The previous year, Pamela earned her MBA from American University’s Kogod School of Business.

From 2006-2010, Pamela was a Principal and Chief Operating Officer for realChange Partners, a strategic planning, development planning and leadership development consulting firm. She served as the new business development manager and project manager for more than 40 nonprofit clients that included the American Society of Journalists & Authors, Environmental Grantmakers Association, CenterLink, Foundation for Community Association Research and the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance.

Pamela is a 20-year fundraising professional having served in staff, Board and volunteer leadership roles for diverse organizations such congressional PAC’s, House of Ruth, AIDSWALK Washington, Gateway CDC and the Gateway Arts Center, where she serves as a leadership volunteer on the named gifts campaign. Her experience goes beyond corporate sponsorship programs and includes building diversified fundraising programs that include foundation and government grants, individual and major gifts and membership programs.

Pamela is a trainer for the Association TRENDS online education series and a guest speaker for the George Mason University Arts Management Program. Pamela tweets about association and nonprofit sponsorship via @sponspecialist.

Samantha Peterson

Samantha works with the Curley Company as an expert in graphic design, social media engagement, and technology policy.

Prior to working with the Curley Company, Samantha worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and the Senate International Narcotics Control Caucus, and as a Campaign Coordinator for a California Assembly candidate.

In addition, she was a graphic and web designer for the University of California San Diego and several private enterprises. Samantha received national recognition from the United States Department of Education for her Ronald E. McNair Fellowship research on “The Impact and Efficacy of AIDS Social Marketing in France and the United States: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Globalization of Health Promotion.”

Samantha received dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of California San Diego in Theatre and Dance, and International Studies with an emphasis in Political Science. She also attended the University of Ghana, West Africa. She currently resides in San Diego, California.

Matt Swanston

Strategic Partner

Matt is a blogger for Curley Company and a social media strategist with over 18 years of experience in corporate, agency and non-profit environments. He is an expert in multimedia production and has a long history of designing innovative, effective programs that get attention.

Previously, Matt served as Director, Industry Communications for the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), where he designed and executed online communications campaigns and created content for traditional and new media channels including CompTIA web properties, blogs, podcasts, viral video, and social networks.

Before joining CompTIA, Matt spent nearly a decade at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), where he developed and implemented strategic public relations programs and served as media spokesperson for the home networking, home automation, and automotive electronics product categories. Matt identified and reported on hot products, emerging trends, and potential opportunities for CEA and the association’s trade show, the International CES. The International CES is the world’s largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology and America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind.

Matt also served as an account executive at TMP Worldwide Advertising and Public Relations, designing and implementing communications and investor relations campaigns for technology clients, including CEA and Apple Computer.

Before studying in the UK for a year and earning a Bachelor of Science degree from New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, Matt worked as an automotive electronics technician, preparing two-way radio communication and ignition systems for NASCAR racecars. A native of Washington, DC, Matt now lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife and two young sons.

Greg Wilson

Strategic Partner

Greg specializes in crisis communications, corporate communications, and digital reputation management. He has nearly 20 years of communications experience in public relations, public affairs, government relations and lobbying.

Prior to working with Curley Company, Greg served as Senior Vice President at Levick Strategic Communications, leading the firm’s legal services practice and providing crisis counsel. In this capacity, he managed publicity campaigns to build new business for clients through print, internet, radio and television exposure. For his crisis clients, Greg helped clients set and deliver messages, identify and train spokespeople, and manage media and internet exposure.

Greg also managed internal and external communications for Solutia Inc., a publicly traded chemical company, and was responsible for developing and executing an aggressive global public relations strategy spanning North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, as well as managing congressional and regulatory lobbying efforts. He managed business-level communications during the company’s announcement of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as well as subsequent business reorganization announcements. Greg also managed a multimillion dollar account portfolio as a vice president at Shandwick Public Affairs. His work has received several public relations industry awards, including the CIPRA and Bulldog awards.

In his capacity as public relations consultant, Greg has managed media and high-profile events on Capitol Hill, at the Supreme Court, and the National Press Club, as well on location with former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. He has briefed and prepared dozens of high-visibility speakers, including former Vice President Al Gore and former FEMA Director James Lee Witt, for media and business events. Greg began his career as a legislative and press aide on Capitol Hill for then-Representative James M. Inhofe (R-OK). In addition, he assisted Senator Robert Dole’s presidential campaign by managing surrogate media relations during the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego.

Greg is a graduate of Hamilton College with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, and he has completed executive education coursework in Marketing at the University of Chicago. He has served as a guest lecturer on crisis communications at Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and Miami (Ohio) University.

Greg lives in Herndon, VA, with his wife and their three daughters.